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Labor Department's data is expected to show that the number of
Americans filing for unemployment benefits dipped in the latest
week but remained well above the 900,000 mark, likely due to a
relentless surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.
President Joe Biden is expected to launch an array of
initiatives in his initial days in office, including ramping up
testing and vaccine rollouts.
Democrats took control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday and
Republicans in the Congress signaled a willingness to work on
Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that would enhance jobless
benefits and provide direct checks to households.
Wall Street's main indexes ended at record highs in the previous
session, when Biden took office, with the S&P 500 clocking in a
14% rise since the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Gains during the period were centered around economy-linked
stocks to shares of solar-powered companies.
However, stock market valuations are near a 20-year high and
investors are wary of the fuel left in trades betting on his
policies. Corporate results could present an important test of
whether the rally has run ahead of fundamentals.
At 06:43 a.m. EST, Dow E-minis were up 43 points, or 0.14%, S&P
500 E-minis were up 6.75 points, or 0.18%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis
were up 47.5 points, or 0.36%.
United Airlines Holdings Inc dropped about 2% in premarket trade
after posting a fourth straight quarterly loss due to the
COVID-19 pandemic but said it aims to cut about $2 billion of
annual costs through 2023.
Ford Motor Co added about 3% after Deutsche Bank raised its
price target on the U.S. automaker's stock.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; editing
by Uttaresh.V)
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